Lambie, Willie, JP, Frans, Habana, Pollard, F du Preez
SUBS....Senatla, Reinach, Stepfontein
Beast, Strauss, Jannie, Etzebeth, Matfield (capt), Louw, Alberts, Vermeulen
Subs....Nyakane, Bismarck, Coenie , Willemse, Coetzee.
Questions?
My side is chosen to play power/tight rugby....of the kind that even the ABs played to win the RWC. Not in the hope of having a bunch of whipper snappers running gloriously through open space.
Professional kicking at 15, 14, 12, 10 and 9.
Great physicality in the midfield
And an attackling Plan B ready to roll with Senatla for Lambie, with Willie to 15 and Raainag. I would prefer a better centre sub than Step to add to that....maybe de Allende. I would also prefer a better sub than Coetzee .....maybe Schalk if his body holds up.
1. Beast
2. Strauss
3. Jannie
4. Eben
5. Vicki
6. Louw
7. ALberts
8. Vermeulen
9. du Preez
10. Pollard
11. Habana
12. temper tiffie
13. JP
14. Willie
15. Lambie
16. BImsarck
17. Nyakane
18. Coenie
19. Paul Willemse
20. COetzee
21. Reinach
22. Serfontein
23. Senatla.
Your starting pack is very slow. I can understand why you pick Louw, Alberts and Vermeulen, and I don't have much against Alberts either, anything is better than Mohoje.
As for Alberts he is a 50 minute player and if used to soften the opponents it is fine, but there really isn't much pace, nor ball skills in that pack. Nothing.
I know many still rate Fourie du Preez, I really don't he kicks too much and I am over a nine that wants to kick all day, he really doesn't have any pace left either.
Pollard I assume can be replaced by Lambie if it is necessary, and Willie can replace Lambie at 15, so I don't have much of an issue there.
Frans Steyn and JP are like two Oshkosh trucks in the midfield, can't see any attacking play evolving from that.
This is a conservative, very defense orientated team that will only be effective playing Bulls rugby.
It has been done for the past decade or more, and I have had enough of that.
The trouble with that logic is we don't have the resources.....the alternatives were outplayed by Wales. And the time to experiment with open rugby is not the RWC.
Who are these world beaters who are going to spark an adventurous game? Right now the only backs we have that can do the business on attack are.....Raainag, Pollard, Senatla, Kolbe, Willie and Habana because of his reading of the play.
But unfortunately there is also defence to consider....and defending the high cross kick, the new weapon of choice, is going to be tough for the small chaps.
Here is the team that played against Wales, those in bold are also part of your 23 match day squad.
Willie le Roux
Cornal Hendricks
Jan Serfontein
Jean de Villiers (c)
Lwazi Mvovo
Pat Lambie
Cobus Reinach
Tendai Mtawarira
Bismarck du Plessis
Coenie Oosthuizen
Eben Etzebeth
Victor Matfield
Marcell Coetzee
Oupa Mohoje
Duane Vermeulen
Replacements
Adriaan Strauss
Trevor Nyakane
Julian Redelinghuys
Lood de Jager
Nizaam Carr
Francois Hougaard
Handre Pollard
Damian de Allende
Four of the forwards that played against Wales are not in your squad, those are Redelinghuys, de Jager, Carr and Oupa. Only one started Mohoje.
How you can use that as a justification to say the alternates have been outplayed carries no water whatsoever.
Hendricks, Mvovo and de Villiers are the starters not in your team. I don't think many would suggest Mvovo and Hendricks are our best options at wing, but Habana was not available.
How you think your midfield is going to do anything more is ludicrous.
The Boks have never been a set play attacking team, barring a few cut in from the wing moves against the Lions. We are far more dangerous on turnover ball....so the team should be orientated to getting that kind of quick ball. With big hitters like Frans and JP in the midfield we will get that kind of ball...and Habana, Willie and Senatla will ring the cash register.
That dear boy is a far more realisic assessment than expecting disadvantaged centres like Step and JJ to carve up modern defences. It never happened in the S15, and it certainly wont happen in the RWC.
Well if you are going for a power team then what on earth is Matfield doing in the side for a start and why would you start Strauss ahead of Bismark?
Why waste the impressive Willie on the wing when he is clearly a classy 15 and operates best when roaming. Lambie is not a 15, he is a 10.
While I could live with Frans and JP as centres, they bring a sense of predictability about things and the partnership lacks spark.......we need more creativity at 12 and more speed at 13. Both are past their best days.....Frans would offer experience off the bench and I'd see how JP operates on the wing as I am sure he has something to offer still, but did not show it this year.
Your side contains too much dead wood in du Preez, Habana, Jannie, Matfield, Louw and Alberts. I don't get how anyone can rate Louw over the youngsters like Coetzee, Carr, Kriel and Kolisi. When last did Alberts have a good game, he is past it?
As for Matfield, he has been a massive liability physically all year so any Bok side containing him is already handicapped.
du Preez offers no attacking clout at 9
My WC side would be:
15. Willie 14. JP 13. JJ / de Allende 12. Serfontein 11. Senatla 10. Pollard 9. Hougaard / Reinach 1. Beast 2. Bismark / Strauss 3. Marcel v/d Merwe / Coenie 4. Willemse / Etzebeth 5. Etzebeth / PSDT 6. Coetzee 7. Arno Botha / J.du Plessis 8. Vermeulen......with the likes of Frans, Lambie, Goosen, Nyakane, Lood, Kolisi, Brussouw and co forming part of the equation
I'm not expecting much agreement, and to be honest I don't really care. The challenge is obvious....what do you do when your putative centre pairing is a class down from the NZ, Wales, Oz, French centre pairings? The answer is obvious, bottle up the centres and counter attack. But when you can't even see the problem, the solution is likely to be elusive.
A "me too" strategy never works with inferior resources. You need a unique strategy that allows you to shape events in your favour.
Or you adopt Biltong's view....we have no chance of winning so lets just play wide open rugby.
Many unanswered questions, but for me the most prominent are our scrum, battle for the loose ball and the lack of penetration of our midfielders.
Our scrum still lacks a solid front row. I can not see how Beast can be our starting loosehead. Schalk vd Merwe is much stronger. Coenie did much better against Wales, but I am confident that Dryer will be much better. Play him in the RC and see how it goes.
We battled to get in time to the ball on the ground in more or less all the tests this year. Get Kriel in there and the problem will be solved (Kriel, Coetzee and Vermeulen). I used to be a firm believer in soften up the opposition and strike later. With so many subs nowadays on the bench, this softening approach is hardly applicable any more.
I have no firm ideas on the selection of our midfielders. Seems to me we don't have any real stars there and must do with what is available.
